


Fixation

by jeffthemermaid



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Children, Children of Characters, Christmas, Dark Character, Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Feels, Forehead Kisses, Hogwarts, I'm Bad At Summaries, Intrigue, Kissing, Loving Marriage, Marriage, Obsession, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Post-Hogwarts, Pregnancy, Siblings, Sleepy Kisses, Step-parents, Step-siblings, Teenage Drama, True Love, Waffles, dramione - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-10 05:48:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeffthemermaid/pseuds/jeffthemermaid
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are happily married, parents to seven children and have another on the way.They have struggles, everyone does, but is there something more sinister going on? Yes, yes there is.DramioneExplicit for future chapters.DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA





	1. All My Children

It was early evening on Christmas Day when Draco Malfoy entered his home, accompanied by a snowy gust of wind, laden with last minute packages for under the tree. Snow dripped from his clothes as he stashed his packages under the proud Douglas Fir in their living room before hurrying to the kitchen, which was filled with warmth and mouth-watering aromas.

“I’m home.” He announced, practically drooling as the scent of roasting turkey, vegetables and gravy filled his nose. “And this place smells amazing.”

A very pregnant Hermione Granger was checking the progress of the sizeable turkey in the oven when her husband arrived home from his errands. Their youngest child, two-year-old Thomas, clung to his mothers’ leg and giggled in delight as she prodded the bird. Once satisfied with her cooking Hermione closed the oven and turned to greet her husband.

“Malfoy, I had started to wonder if you’d gotten lost in the snow.” She said with an amused smile. She pressed a hand to her back as she stooped to pick up little Thomas and put him on her hip where he melded around the side of her swollen bump before she closed the distance between herself and Draco. She finished her greeting by planting a happy kiss on his cold mouth.

“Sorry I’m late darling, Muggles are treacherous during the holidays.” Draco apologised after he’d returned her kiss, planted another on his youngest son’s head and stooped down to cup her baby bump and kiss her belly through her jersey’s fabric. Hermione smiled down at him and brushed the snow from her husband’s hair affectionately.

“That’s okay, I’m glad you’re home. I do need to finish up in here though, so please take this little man off my hands.”

Hermione waited until Draco had got up, and removed his outdoor coat, hat and gloves before she passed their son to him and enveloped them both in a quick hug before returning to her stove and the almost-ready feast cooking on, and inside it.

Thomas babbled happily as Draco carried him into the dining room, secured the toddler in his high chair and began setting the long oak table. Hermione had brought all the festive holiday decorations out for him, and by the time he was finished the table looked beautiful and very Christmassy.

A fire was crackling merrily at the end of the room, and back in the living room the Douglas Fir twinkled proudly over the presents stacked beneath it.

Hermione tried not to focus on it as she finished her tasks in the kitchen, but she was a little nervous about the evening ahead. They were expecting their entire family around for Christmas dinner, and it would be the first time they’d all been in the same room together. It had taken a lot of work to pull off creating the event, Hermione wasn’t sure she was ready to go through with it and her sensitivity inducing hormones caused by the baby growing in her belly weren’t helping.

She was doing her best to keep her mind off it as she garnished the cheesecakes she’d made for dessert when her husband re-entered the room accompanied by their entire brood of children.

Hermione smiled when Draco walked in, she was pleased to see all of her children were cleaned and groomed, and each was wearing the Christmas jerseys Molly Weasley has knitted them. Well, almost all of them.

“Rose, in Merlins name, what are you wearing?” She asked incredulously, folding her arms crossly when her eyes landed on her 17-year old daughters tiny crop top and ripped skin-tight jeans.

“Clothes.” Rose retorted, her bright eyes flashing defiantly as her hands went to her hips.

“That is not what we wear to Christmas, or anywhere if you want to maintain your dignity.” Hermione reprimanded Rose, her demeanour calm until Rose responded by simply rolling her eyes.

Hermione took a deep breath and turned to Draco, her expression imploring him to help. Draco nodded to her and turned to Rose, keeping his voice stern as he voiced his agreement. “Go and change. Put on the jumper from your grandmother like your siblings have please.”

Rose’s nostrils flared as anger immediately flushed her face.

“Sure thing, _DAD._ ” She spat venomously before exiting the room and slamming the door after her. Draco balled his hand into a fist and turned away from the other kids, forcing himself to push his anger down to deal with later.

How, after more than a decade of feeding, clothing and loving her, she couldn’t accept him as a stepfather he couldn’t understand. They had a blended family, and sure that came with fresh difficulties for both parents and children. However, Rose’s brother Hugo, Hermione’s other child from her previous marriage to Ronald Weasley, had accepted Draco after some time had passed and Draco loved him as dearly as any of his other children. His son Scorpius, from his own previous marriage to Astoria Greengrass, was the same age as Rose and he had adjusted easily. Hermione loved him fiercely and he returned the sentiment. It was only Rose who continued to make all her parents lives difficult with her open and obvious hatred for silver-haired stepfather.  

Hermione was disappointed in her daughters’ actions, however unfortunately her antics were a regular feature and right then Hermione had more important things to focus on. She pushed away the hurt her eldest daughters’ disrespect to her love caused and returned her attention back to the rest of her children.

Besides the troublesome Rose, who much resembled her Aunt Ginny and was exceptionally beautiful, clocking in at 17 years old was Scorpius, Draco’s son from his first marriage. He was a wonderful boy, and one who Hermione referred to simply as her son. She had a close bond with him, and he strongly resembled his father and most of the Malfoy line. He was a pale, handsome, thin and blond, but unlike many of the Malfoy’s, he had a heart of gold. Next was Hugo, who like Rose, was a child of her previous marriage to Ron Weasley. Hugo was a short, overweight, handsome 15-year-old who always made people laugh with his wit and sarcasm, the latter of which had been carefully nurtured by Draco himself.

The oldest of Hermione and Draco’s children together was Julius. He was 12, skinny, brainy and almost always had his nose in a book. Then came Ariana, she was 9 and often needed reminded to use her inside voice. Her wildly curly silver hair was always a mess and she was constantly trekking mud indoors and bringing home exciting finds from her many adventures. Next was Jeffrey, he was a delightful 4-year-old who cared about nothing more than unicorns and enjoyed dressing up in his mother gowns. Their most recent addition was Thomas, the giggling 2-year-old who already had a mop of bushy brown hair like his mother and generally really enjoyed naptime.

Hermione put her hands on her bump and her happiness was momentarily subdued as she interacted with her bright and happy children. Whenever the holidays came around her heart hurt a little as it made the memories of the child she’d carried after Ariana cling to the edges of her mind. Hermione had given birth to a stillborn baby, who would’ve been six this year. Hermione thought of him often, they’d chosen not to name him, but she thought of him as her lost angel.

The death had affected both her and Draco deeply, Draco taking it particularly hard. It was a long time before they even considered unprotected sex after that. After a while though they healed a little and a year later, they welcomed Jeffrey into the world.

Presently Hermione was six months pregnant, and after a long discussion and a few tears she and Draco had agreed this baby would be their last. They loved all their children and wouldn’t exchange them for anything, but they both felt ready for this baby to complete their family. Draco liked to joke it was their last because he was running out of room on his shoulder blade, where he had all their children’s names tattooed, including ‘Angel’ for their deceased infant, despite his mother Narcissa’s protests about marring his flawless skin.

Scorpius, Hugo, Julius, Ariana, Jeffrey, and Thomas (who’d escaped his highchair) were avidly talking over one another, too excited for Christmas to bother about Rose’s behaviour. They were all milling around the kitchen, the older boys trying to steal food and Ariana busy scolding them whilst the young ones ran around joyously squealing about the prospect of presents.

Their guests were due to start arriving, so Hermione rounded up her rowdy children and sent them to the living room to await their arrival, and to get them out of her kitchen. Working together she and Draco dished up the feast she’d prepared and set the food on the table, covered to stay hot. Once everything downstairs was ready, both hurried upstairs to their bedroom to get ready to greet their guests.

Draco changed quickly into a nice pair of dress pants and an expensive jacket. Once he’d fixed his hair he sat on their bed and watched Hermione as she changed into a beautiful red dress. He watched her as she put her curly hair up, applied a touch of mascara, some lipstick and spritzed her intoxicating perfume behind her ears and onto her throat. The dress hugged her body beautifully, accentuating her baby bump and giving him just a glimpse of cleavage thanks to her ample and pregnancy swollen breasts. Draco was particularly appreciative of that side effect of growing a baby.

“Will you clasp this necklace please?” Hermione asked her husband once she’d put on a pair of pretty but comfortable flats and approached where he was sitting on their sprawling bed.

“Of course.” Draco stood and took the necklace. She turned around and he lowered the necklace over her head and clasped it at the nape of her neck, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder as he did so.

“You look good Granger.” He murmured, his mouth still against her warm skin.

His words, as well as the sensation of his lips sent chills up and down Hermione’s spine and brought a smile that she couldn’t contain to her features.

“You shine up pretty nice too.” She complimented him warmly as she turned around and straightened his jacket collar, eliciting a pleased smirk from her husband. He was about to kiss her again when their moment was interrupted by the shrill sound of the doorbell.

A little reluctantly they headed downstairs, Draco walking ahead but reaching back to hold Hermione’s hand affectionately from in front since they didn’t fit side by side on the narrow stair case.

“I’m sorry about Rose.” Hermione said quietly and squeezed Draco’s hand when they reached the hall.

“Don’t even worry about it.” Draco said kindly and gave her hand a squeeze in return. “Let’s worry about all of our parents. And our ex’s.”

Hermione took a deep breath and tried not to shudder as they approached the door.

“Let’s do it.”

Both fixed smiles on their faces as Hermione opened the door, and one by one they greeted their guests as they arrived. Molly and Arthur Weasley were a warm welcome, Molly resented Hermione for leaving her son, but loved her grandchildren too much to ever mention it, and Arthur was always fun and excited to be with them. Harry and Ginny and their children arrived next and they had brought many presents and wine with them. Draco tolerated Harry for Hermione’s sake. He didn’t invite any of his own friends, because truth be told, the ones he had left weren’t family people.

The Potter’s arrival was followed by Astoria Greengrass, Draco’s ex-wife, who came alone, and she was followed by Hermione’s parents who were polite and affectionate but generally quiet people. Draco’s parents arrived next, their arrival was a little cold as Lucius Malfoy did not like Hermione and her Muggle-born blood, and Narcissa mostly did as her husband wished. Last to arrive was Ron Weasley, and not only had he shown up late and clearly not sober, he had his new girlfriend on his arm. She was only two years older than Rose and Scorpius and her dress was so short all the guests could see her butt cheeks.

Draco lead the guests to the dining room and Hermione closed the front door with a sigh of relief. She leaned against it for a moment, she had made it through greetings, thank merlin. Now all she had to do was make it through the rest of the evening. The biggest hurdle was Ron. He was barely was interested in his children and usually far too interested in showing off his ridiculously young and perky girlfriend. Astoria was a stiff cow too, her snide remarks and insults always wore Hermione’s patience thin, as did her father in law’s disapproval. Everyone else ought to be fine, even Harry whom she had remained good friends with despite his continuing support of Ron.

With a deep breath she pushed herself off the door and herded her children through to the dining room. Once everyone had been seated and a few toasts had been made everyone began helping themselves to the delicious food Hermione had prepared.

Unfortunately, as anyone could have predicted, things were awkward during dinner.

Rose was sullen and kept dropping hints to her father that she wanted to live with him, much to Hermione’s chagrin. Ron barely noticed her however and kept talking over people to remind them how young and accomplished his girlfriend was. The senior Weasleys and Malfoys couldn’t even look at each other, and the Potter children kept rudely correcting Julius, Ariana, Jeffrey and Thomas every time they called Molly or Arthur their grandparent. Luckily Molly and Arthur treated every baby from Hermione’s womb like family and wouldn’t hear of them calling them anything else besides grandma and grandpa, which Hermione was always grateful for. After her painful divorce from Ron she had feared they wouldn’t keep an ex daughter in law in her heart, but they had, at least for the grandchildren. Hermione’s parents spent most of the evening looking bewildered and smiling through the awkwardness. The worst part though was Astoria. She kept commenting on how thin Scorpius was, eventually going to far as to hint that he was underfed because Hugo was eating his portions. Draco had silenced her immediately, but the damage was done. Hermione was angry beyond belief, and Hugo was obviously humiliated, he quietly stopped eating and didn’t partake in any more food throughout the night.

After dinner and dessert, the mood in the house changed a little as the children all become loud and excited for presents. All the children had a wonderful time opening their gifts, and most of the adults did too, given the circumstances. Once presents were over and most of the food was eaten people began leaving, and around midnight Draco and Hermione bade goodnight to the last of their guests.

They celebrated getting through the evening with a glass of champagne (sparkling apple juice for Hermione) and leftover cheesecake on the couch with their feet up. It was the part of that Christmas they cherished most, the quiet part that was just each other and all their beautiful children. The happiness of watching their brood all together made a kind happiness and warmth well up inside each of them that was entirely inimitable.

They watched their children play with their new toys and gadgets on the floor around the tree happily for an hour or so after their guests left before they began herding the whole bunch up to their beds.

Hermione began the bedtime rounds tiredly. Her feet were sore from cooking and cleaning all day, her baby belly grew heavy on her small frame. She went to check on the children alone because Draco had volunteered to turn off everything downstairs and lock up the house.

Hermione started with Thomas, brushing his little teeth, and changing him into his fluffy winter pyjamas before she tucked him into his cot gently. The toddler was tuckered out, he barely made a fuss about his bedtime and dropped off to sleep before Hermione had even switched his monitor on.  She gave him a soft kiss and exited his room, padding down the hall to Jeffreys room next. He had gotten himself into his pyjamas, they were mismatched and were buttoned wrong, but he was super proud so Hermione high fived him for his efforts and tucked him into his bed. She made sure he had his special pink blanky as he snuggled down and kissed his forehead. “Night baby.” She whispered as he kissed her nose and she finished tucking him in. She turned on his nightlight and crossed the hall to Julius’s room.

He was already in bed; all his books were with him and he was wearing his new sneakers beneath the duvet. Hermione chuckled when she noticed and sat down beside him on his bed. She tickled him affectionately and raised her eyebrows at the pile of books in his bed.

“You can’t sleep with all these books honey, what if you sleep on them and damage them?”

“At least let me keep the shoes?” Julius pleaded as she removed the books and stacked them on his nightstand.

“Alright, just the shoes.” She agreed and kissed his hair despite his protests before hauling herself up from his bed. She whispered her love as she turned out his light and left his room, closing the door behind her.

In Ariana’s room, she had to dig through a pile of soft toys to find her daughter, who greeted her with cuddles and kisses and didn’t want her to go. “Christmas isn’t over.” Ariana tried, giving her mother her most adorable look. “We don’t have to go to bed.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement and wagged her finger at her youngest daughter.

“If you don’t go to sleep, we can’t play with all your toys in the morning.” She told her gently and pulling her blankets up over her. “It’s bedtime munchkin.”

After a brief moment of visible consternation, Ariana agreed to go to bed, but only if Hermione read her a story.

Hermione readily agreed, she read her a lovely story about a green dinosaur, and gave her one last hug before putting on her night light and leaving her alone. Next, she went back downstairs, one hand on her bump, the other on her back as she reached the kitchen. She yawned almost nonstop as she made up a turkey and stuffing sandwich and plated it with some other Christmas treats. She poured a glass of milk and slowly she climbed the stairs again.

She carried the food down the upstairs hallway until she reached Hugo’s room. His door was open, and her heart clenched as she entered, she couldn’t but notice her sons tear stained face.

“Hey bub.” She greeted him softly as she walked in and sat down beside him on his bed. She offered the plate of food and glass of milk to him with a concerned smile. “I brought you a little something, you barely touched your dinner.”

Hugo accepted the plate after a moment of deliberation and bit into his sandwich eagerly.

“Thanks mum.” He said through a mouthful of stuffing, and the pain in his eyes cut Hermione to her core. She nodded in response and set about undoing her hair as Hugo finished his food. Once he was done, he put the dishes aside and leaned forward to hug his mother tightly. He didn’t say anything, he just held onto her and buried his head in her dress. Hermione bit back tears of her own as her sons’ shoulders started to shake with sobs and she wrapped her arms around him. She held him tight and rocked him back and forth, inwardly wishing she had whipped out her wand and turned Astoria into a slug or a frog the second her horrible words had come out of her mouth.

She held him until his tears had ceased. Once he’d quieted, she kissed his head and lifted his head up to look at her. “Always remember you are my beautiful boy okay?”

“Okay.” Hugo nodded, wiping his eyes as he sat up and let go of his mother. He wasn’t embarrassed at revealing his hurt and emotion, even at his tender age in his teenage years he was constantly grateful for his mother’s comfort. He was so grateful that she had noticed his pain, and she had cared.

When Hermione left him, she was reluctant to do so, but it was getting dangerously late and he wasn’t her last stop and her body ached for her bed.

She yawned as she knocked on oldest sons’ door, she’d previously learnt the hard way that it was important to knock on a teenage boy’s doors before entering. Scorpius called for her to enter so she opened his door and poked her head inside.

“Hey, you, how was your night?” She asked when she saw his pensive expression. He was lying on top of his bed covers, sprawled identically to the way Draco sprawled on their bed.

“It was fine. Great food and gifts, thanks Mum. It was just my mother being stupid is all. She asked me to come live with her, again.” Scorpius informed Hermione unhappily. “I refused.”

“Scorpius darling, you should tell your father, she isn’t allowed to hound you like this, the court ordered her to stop asking. She isn’t allowed to have you, not with her unstable lifestyle.” Hermione fretted, entering his bedroom and patting his knee as she lowered herself to sit beside him.

When she first married Draco and Scorpius became part of her life, she had planned to never say an ill word about Astoria, and to never stop Scorpius from seeing her. As it turned out she didn’t need to try and adhere to those noble intentions, Astoria was cruel and unreliable, and Scorpius had lost faith in her at a young age.

“It’s fine.” Scorpius sighed. He patted the hand she had resting on his knee before glancing up at her.

Concern pooled in his eyes and he poked her side gently. “You should be in bed, you look exhausted.”

Hermione chuckled and stood up. “You shouldn’t tell a woman she looks exhausted Scorpius, you’ll get a good slap from some poor girl.”

Scorpius pulled his blankets up and grinned at her mischievously. “Nah, they wouldn’t risk ruining this handsome mug.”

“Uh huh, good night you.” Hermione kissed her hand and pressed it to her son’s forehead before exiting his room and closing his door behind her.

One more room to go. Then she could go to bed.

Hermione reached Rose’s room and stopped outside the closed door. Her daughter hadn’t a spoken a word to her all night. “Rose? Can I talk to you?” She called through the door, her tone hopeful.

“Go away.” Rose snapped from inside, and Hermione heard her slide the lock on the other side of the door.

“Good night Rose.” She said quietly to the door before walking away from her oldest daughters’ room sadly. She was too tired to battle with Rose tonight. She padded down the hallway and finally, finally entered her own bedroom.

She walked straight to her bed, kicked off her shoes, shimmied out of her dress and undergarments and collapsed naked onto the silken duvet. Draco was already lying under the covers, arms behind his head, his eyes fixed on his wife’s beautiful but clearly exhausted figure.

“That was a magnificent entrance Granger.” He told her, his voice gentle as he unfolded his arms and tenderly massaged her belly.

“Mmmm.” Hermione hummed her response as she relaxed under his warm and gentle touch.

“Come on, lets get you into bed.” Draco said after a few minutes and he sat up and assisted the unwilling to move Hermione under their covers. Once she was successfully ensconced in their gloriously comfortable bed he reached over and turned their beside lamps off, making the room dark. He shimmied down until he was close to his wife and pulled the covers up to their chins.

Hermione’s eyes were already closed as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and moulded his body to hers. Draco pushed her curly hair away from her face and lay his hand on her naked belly gently.

“I love you.” Hermione whispered, her heart full as sleep claimed her.

“Not as much as I love you.” Draco told his sleeping wife before he too closed his eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.


	2. A Closer Look

When Hermione and Draco reconnected, she was a recently divorced mother of two and he was a long-time divorced father of one. Draco was in a state of depression. Astoria had proved an unwise choice, his son was miserable, and he was largely shunned by the wizarding community thanks to his and his family’s participation the Battle of Hogwarts many years prior. Hermione was devasted by the failure of her marriage to Ron Weasley and was scarred from his many betrayals with other women.

They came into each other’s lives as former enemies, and somehow the hard times in their lives helped them connect, and eventually lead to so much more than friendship. As they planned their wedding Hermione suggested they move away from their bad memories and find refuge somewhere far away from the people who hounded her for her brave past, and shamed Draco for his conflicted one. He agreed they needed a fresh start to their lives, away from all that as well as both of their previous marriages.

Hermione wanted to live in one of the many Non-Magical Communities for Witches and Wizards that had been created since the fall of Voldemort. They were placed across England, and they’d been implemented in effort to bridge the gap for the Muggle-born and to provide witches and wizards places to live peacefully amongst Muggles. In these communities no magic was permitted, and the Minister of Magic had had strong spells cast over the areas, spells that made magic impossible to perform. Witches and wizards were permitted to live with their wands, potions and other magical items locked away, but were entirely unable to use any whilst within the community’s physical boundary’s.

Draco had been a little reluctant at first, he’d only ever lived in the Malfoy mansion (which his parents had gifted him when his father originally went to Azkaban, and after his eventual release they’d moved to London) and he’d been surrounded by magic for his entire life. However, after Hermione explained about how she’d grown up without magic, and gone to normal education institutes before Hogwarts, and essentially had the best of both worlds, he found himself onboard with the idea.

Hermione herself was reluctant to live without the magic she loved so dearly, but she wanted her children to grow up grounded the way she had. Draco had grown up in the elitist wizarding world, as had Scorpius, and neither really had any idea how to live without magic, but as a family they faced the challenge together.

After their wedding they purchased a new home, it was a rambling old house in outer London, in a Non-Magic community, and it was the beginning of their life together. Despite being happy with this living arrangement, Draco had been unwilling to part with his family home and so most summers and holidays were spent at Malfoy Manor. The family travelled there together and there they stored all their magical possessions and artefacts.

As their family grew some of there the children became old enough to use magic outside of Hogwarts, and at Malfoy Manor they could do so freely, as did Hermione and Draco, and everyone revelled in the opportunity. The younger children were also able to develop their skills naturally like all witches and wizards were supposed to.

Their choice worked well, there were bumps in the road at first, and they both missed magic terribly, but eventually things straightened out and by the time they reached their most recent Christmas both Hermione and Draco were pro’s at balancing living with and without magic.

Solving things without magic was difficult, and Draco had had to learn how to use all sorts of new things, like microwaves, computers, cars and the laundry room. To this day he despised traffic, he wished to merlin he could just apparate to where he needed to go on a near daily basis.

Living with magic was different, though things like the internet, the West End and Muggle restaurants made the changes much sweeter. It was a balancing act and there had been trying times.

The hardest times were the days when the children were injured or hurt, like when Ariana broke her arm or when Scorpius was beaten by bullies. Those were the moments Hermione wished to flick her wand and cast spells to heal them as easily as she would have when she was a teenager.

In dark times, she wondered if she were a terrible person for making her family suffer what Muggles had to suffer through, things that wizards could fix with a wave of a wand. But her children had always recovered, and they learnt lessons that people who’d grown up with magic never got to learn.

Hermione and Draco had also agreed not to take on fake Muggle jobs despite living amongst their non-magical neighbours. Hermione had been Head of the Department of Wizarding Law before she married Ron, and when she’d finished raising her children, she had dreams of returning to that field of work. Draco was independently wealthy; his family’s fortune was more than enough to cover their family for centuries to come. When Ariana was a baby, he had however written an account of his time as a Death Eater and of the events that happened during that period of his life. The book had been published and become a bestseller in wizarding bookstores.

The book had opened the door to the wizarding community and slowly he had become somewhat accepted into the fold. Eventually, after many philanthropic endeavours with the earnings from the novel he had earned a place on the Hogwarts school board. He had accepted the position gladly, and it was a pleasure as Hermione had been a member of the board for years and it became a responsibility they enjoyed having together. Hermione loved his book, and she used it as a tool to explain their fathers complicated past to the children.

It was all these decisions and experiences, as well as countless others, that bring us to the present day, the day after Christmas.

It was far too few hours after the sun rose when Hermione reluctantly untangled herself from Draco’s embrace and climbed out of her warm bed. Goose bumps rippled across her naked skin as she hurried through the early morning air to her en-suite bathroom. She turned on the shower, leaving it running so the water could heat up, and brushed her teeth while she pulled a towel from the cabinet and hung it over the bath rail.

Once the water was at her favourite temperature Hermione stepped inside the glass enclosure and relaxed under the cleansing waterfall. Steam filled the room and her throat as she hummed a tune softly and washed her thick hair with well-practiced hands. Once she was squeaky clean and she had sufficiently woken up Hermione shut off the water and stepped out of shower. She wrapped her herself in the soft over-sized towel she’d chosen and attempted to squeeze some of the water out of her wild hair and padded back into her bedroom.

She dried off her body and moisturised every inch of her skin before dressing in a pair of comfortable pants with a stretch waistband for her swollen baby belly and a woollen jumper. She ran some health increasing oils through her unruly hair and deftly pulled it back into a French braid before finishing her morning routine with a quick application of mascara and lip balm.

Once dressed she walked back to her bed where her husband was still fast asleep with his face buried in a pillow and his arms and legs sprawled across most of the bed.

Hermione sat down on the small space left beside him and ran a hand through his hair affectionately. She smiled slightly in the low light of the early hour as Draco stirred and grumbled nonsense words in his sleep. Inside her belly her unborn child seemed to share their fathers’ sentiments about waking and kicked their mother uncomfortably until she rubbed her bump gently and whispered soothing words to both father and child. When her baby settled, she started drawing lazy circles on the bare skin of Draco’s back with her fingers. Tenderly she caressed his smooth skin, stopping to trace over the tattoos of their children’s names on his shoulder blade until slowly but surely Draco woke up.

“Mmhhmm, can’t keep your hands off me huh?” Draco said groggily, his voice muffled as he turned his head to look at his wife.

“Never.” She replied with a wink and drew her hand from his skin as he rolled over and sat up.

“How embarrassing, a Gryffindor obsessed with a Slytherin! What will people say.” He teased as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before stretching and yawning.

“I doubt they’d say much.” Hermione responded dryly and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his forehead before she stood up. “However, our children will have a lot to say if I don’t go downstairs and start on breakfast.”

“Ooh, please make waffles.” Draco implored Hermione, his suggestion unintentionally well timed with the arrival of their earliest waking children.

“WAFFLES!” Ariana and Jeffrey shrieked in excitement as they burst through their parent’s doorway and ran straight for their bed. They were clad in the fluffy pyjamas still and their sleep-made hairstyles were quite entertaining to behold.

“Waffles it is I guess.” Hermione consented, folding her arms and smirking as the ridiculously cute Ariana and Jeffrey clambered onto the bed and began jumping all over their father in excitement.

“Save me!” Draco begged through his laughter as Ariana jumped on him and attempted to tickle him under his chin. “Have mercy!”

“Good luck with that.” Hermione chuckled before escaping quickly from the room before she could be entangled in the playful antics. She had far too much to do, and this way at least they would be occupied while she cleaned up from the mess the night before.

Once she was downstairs, she grabbed a rubbish bag and set about throwing away all the ribbons and gift-wrap strewn around the living room and any half-eaten food that had been left out overnight. The fire in the kitchen and the one in the living room had been packed in well by Draco the night before so she was able to fill them with kindling and get them going immediately without the hassle of lighting them from scratch. Once the fires were tended, she cleaned down the kitchen and opened all the curtains downstairs. Weak sunlight poured in, sparkling on the fresh snow outside and on the newly cleaned surfaces inside the house.

Hermione had just finished mixing up her waffle batter recipe when she heard Thomas start fussing in his cot through the kitchen baby monitor. Pleased with his immaculate timing she put the batter away in the refrigerator and headed back upstairs to get him up. By the time she had fed him, (he was at the age where she usually liked to wean her children off being breast fed but her current pregnancy had her breasts so full she welcomed the release of feeding him), and changed him enough time had passed that when she arrived back in her bedroom with Thomas in her arms her beds population had grown to include Julius and Hugo. The younger boy was reading a book amongst the chaos, and the older was patiently allowing Jeffrey to apply unicorn stickers to his forehead despite his half-hearted protests.

“Good morning everyone.” She greeted them affectionately and put Thomas down on the bed where he toddled over to his father immediately and planted a slobbery kiss on his shoulder.

“Well good morning to you to young man.” Draco said with mock disgust and picked Thomas up to give him a cuddle as the rest of the children chorused good mornings to their mother.

“Shall we go have breakfast?” Hermione asked the group with a mischievous wiggle of her eyebrows. “Dad’s making waffles.”

The immediate response to this announcement was a loud chorus of groans and protests.

“No!” Julius lamented, looking up from his book in horror. “It’s been almost six weeks since the last time we had to use the fire extinguisher.”

Draco was indignant as he rose from the bed, dragging half the kids with him. “The disrespect for my culinary skills is appalling.” He muttered, feigning offence and glaring at his wife as she giggled helplessly in the doorway.

“Dad, seriously. You can’t cook, unless Mums cooking those waffles, I’m starting a hunger strike.” Scorpius joined the hubbub from the hallway, peering around Hermione to give his dad a look. He was dishevelled and extremely sleepy, but his candour was enough to make both his parents laugh and Draco happily accepted defeat, it wasn’t as if he had any desire to cook breakfast in the first place

“Never fear, the waffle maker is here.” Hermione assured her children and she herded them out of her bedroom and towards the stairs. Usually the younger children would fight one another for the opportunity to help their mother make exciting food like waffles or pancakes. They’d generally cover themselves and half of the kitchen in batter in the process, however all of them were far too busy playing with their new Christmas toys to even suggest getting involved.

Draco, Scorpius, and Hugo seated themselves on the bar stools at the kitchen counter and chatted with Hermione while she set up her toppings and set up the gridle to make their breakfast. Draco made a pot of coffee and he and Scorpius both sipped it as they perused that mornings paper’s crossword. Hugo was scrolling idly on his phone, and beyond them Julius and the younger children sat at the table, his book still in his hands and toys in his siblings’.

Hermione was pouring the first batch of waffles into the hot gridle when their only absent child arrived in the kitchen. Rose pranced in, eyes glued to her cell phone as she sat down on the last stool at the counter. Her face was caked in makeup and she was wearing a pair of ridiculously tight overalls and a bodysuit-thing that Hermione neither understood nor approved of. Her get up was in stark contrast to the pyjama clad family around her, and even to Hermione who was dressed. Draco stared at Rose for several seconds before turning to his wife and raising an eyebrow at her over his newspaper. Hermione shook her head Draco, attempting to quash any ill situation arising. She was determined to just have a peaceful day.

“Good morning Rose darling, did you sleep well?” She asked, offering her daughter a smile.

“Would have been better if I was at Dad’s.” Rose replied snippily without looking up from her phone.

Hermione bit her lip and she swallowed back a curt remark about Ronald Weasleys parenting skills before taking a moment to inhale a deep breath. Instead of responding to her daughters jibes she piled her first batch of waffles onto a plate and handed them over the counter to Hugo.

“Can you put this on the table for the little children please?” She asked her son, relieved when he diligently did as he was asked. It was a relief to her that not all her children disrespected her at every turn.

Hermione turned her attention back to Rose, specifically avoiding looking at her husband as she could already feel his irritation across the counter. She noticed Rose’s familiar scowl, it was the one she always wore when people didn’t respond emotionally to her manipulations. She ignored it because she genuinely wanted to be able to connect with her oldest daughter with the ease they used to have.

“Rose darling, do you have any plans today?” Hermione tried, talking as she began chopping some fresh fruit to accompany the next batch of waffles sizzling on the gridle.

“Oh my god what is with the inquisition?” Rose demanded. She finally looked up from her phone so she could swing her legs up and rest her feet on the barstool Hugo was about to return to.

“Stand fatty.” She sneered cruelly before returning her attention to her phone.

“Don’t be such a bitch to your brother.” Draco interjected loudly, looking entirely vexed as he put down his newspaper and crossed his arms. He usually preferred to give Hermione the chance to deal with Rose as she saw fit, but he was beyond sick of her cruel and disrespectful behaviour.

“Mum! Draco just called me a bitch!” Rose squealed, fake tears gathering in her eyes as she switched gears and implored her mother for sympathy.

Hermione picked up her spatula and waved it at her family with a glare that was somewhat reminiscent of Professor McGonagall. “Draco, don’t swear at the children, Rose, apologize to your brother, that is no way to speak to him.”

Rose just rolled her eyes in response, her tears immediately drying, and continued to text on her phone and boldly disobey her mothers’ instructions.

Draco glowered at Rose for several long seconds as she ignored her mother and showed no remorse for her nastiness. He chewed the inside of his cheek pensively before, with his eyes flashing thunderously, he reached across Scorpius and snatched Rose’s phone off of her.

“Oi!” Rose shouted in surprised anger. “That’s mine! Give it back asshole!”

“Shut up and go and apologize to your brother like your mother said.” Draco ordered stonily and tucked her phone into his pyjama pocket. He picked his newspaper back up and shook it out before unfolding it. Over the top of the pages he could see Rose’s face turning a bright shade of pink and her eyes narrowing into incensed green slits.

“I hate you!” Rose burst out as she stood up and pushed her stools over. It clattered to the floor loudly as she continued with her tantrum. “You’re so stupid, stealing my stuff like you stole my life, why don’t you just do us all a favour and fuck off?”

“Rose! Go to your room at once!” Hermione interjected, seizing control of the situation before it could get any uglier.

“Fine, take his side!” Rose practically screamed before she burst into tears and stormed out of the room. They could hear her as she shouted insults at her parents all the way up the stairs before the slam of her bedroom door cut out the sounds of her tantrum.

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, the tension unbearably thick, until Hermione noticed her waffles were ready. She quickly took them off the gridle and added them and the fruit she’d been cutting to a platter.

She looked around at everyone’s sad and angry faces and heaved an inward sigh before putting on her cheeriest smile and holding up her handiwork for her family to see.

“Alright everyone, let’s have some breakfast.”

 


	3. Roses Have Thorns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, Teddy and Scorpius are not related in this fic. AND he's the same age as Scorpius. Sorry about it.

Later that day Hermione was sitting with Jeffrey at her bureau in her bedroom. Her little boy was happily applying her makeup and skincare products and when he was finished, she was packing them into her suitcase. Scorpius was lying on her bed reading aloud the occasional funny post he came across on the internet as he scrolled through social media on his phone.

Hermione ticked items off on the list in front of her as she packed them, while she simultaneously created a mental list of tasks she had to do by the end of the day. Early the next morning the whole household would be catching a train to the countryside, and there they would spend a week at Malfoy Manor before the older children went back to Hogwarts.

“Is Teddy meeting us at the train station darling?” Hermione asked Scorpius as she accepted a lipstick from Jeffrey and added it to the makeup bag inside her open suitcase. She was referring to Scorpius’s boyfriend-of-two-years, the blue-haired and enchanting Teddy Lupin.

“Yep, he’ll be there by 6am.” Scorpius replied, his tone dry. “He’s beyond excited.”

“Perfect.” Hermione said as she finished packing her suitcase. “Would you mind checking on Julius and Hugo’s packing? I need to help the little ones.”

“No problem.” Scorpius rolled off his parents’ bed and wandered off the down hall in search of his younger brothers. Not that he’d say it out loud, but he too was excited for the morning. Not only did he love going to Malfoy Manor and using magic, he also missed Teddy terribly. He didn’t speak of such things regularly, but he was happier when he had his boyfriend by his side.

Back in her bedroom Hermione helped Jeffrey tidy up his lipstick and then ushered him down the hall to Thomas’s bedroom. Her youngest child was sitting up in his crib and seemed pleased to see his mother when she arrived. She picked him up and set him down beside Jeffrey and set them up with building blocks to play with. Quickly and methodically Hermione packed a suitcase for Thomas, then after checking they were happy, she ducked into Jeffreys room and packed his suitcase as well.

Once she’d finished, she added their suitcases to the growing stack in the hall way and moved both her sons to Ariana’s room. The 9-year old happily entertained her younger brothers with her dinosaur stuffed animals while her mother packed up her things for the trip. Once Hermione pushed Ariana’s suitcase into the hall and checked her three youngest children off her to-do list she stopped for a moment and looked around for her husband.

“Malfoy?” She called out as she popped her head into various rooms and navigated the half-packed suitcases piled in doorways.

“You called m’lady?” Draco said as he exited their bedroom, towing his suitcase behind him.

Hermione smiled and walked over, slipping her arms around his waist as she came to stand in front of him. “I see your packed already, I’m impressed.” She praised him and pressed her lips against his.

“Mm, I’m super good at manly stuff like folding shirts and packing suitcases.” Draco joked after kissing her sweetly.

“Yes, you are.” Hermione said affectionately, enjoying holding him. Draco smiled at her and pressed another kiss to her lips, using the time to place his hands on her round belly and feel the tiny movements of their unborn child. The soft pressure of Draco’s warm hands against her swollen stomach was endlessly comforting and reminded Hermione how much she loved her husband and her family. They would have stayed in their warm embrace for the rest of the day if they were at liberty to, however their children made certain such liberties could not be taken.

“Mum! Dad!” Ariana rushed up to her parents, her little face flushed and her eyes sparkling with excitement as she pulled at Draco and Hermione and forced their attention to her.

“What is it munchkin?” Draco asked, turning with Hermione to placate their daughters demanding demeanour. “I can do a handstand, you have to watch me!” Ariana informed them proudly, her tiny nine-year-old body swelling with pride.

“Please show us.” Hermione encouraged and shared an amused smile with her husband before turning to watch her daughter. After she’d double checked they were watching her Ariana threw her hands in the air, counted to three and then dropped her hands to the floor and lifted her feet from the ground. Hermione and Draco applauded her both somewhat proud, and a little amused as their child wobbled herself in a pretty good handstand in front of them.

Ariana stood up and bowed proudly. “Your welcome.” She said with a grin before scampering off, likely to show off her new skills to her older brothers.

Hermione made use of her daughters’ interruption and stepped away from her husband with a rueful smile. “Now, before you distract me again, can you please take these suitcases downstairs? I want everything ready for us to leave in the morning.”  

Draco smirked at her and grabbed a couple of suitcases. “I can’t help it that I distract you, I’m a sexy guy.”

“Well take your sexiness and get out of here.” She told him, biting back a smile and pushed his shoulder gently.

“Fine, I’m going.” Draco leaned back, kissed her cheek and then hurried downstairs before she could scold him.

Hermione watched him go with an amused smirk, then took out the list from her pocket and started forming a plan for the evening ahead. She was about to get started on her plans when Rose’s bedroom door opened, and her oldest daughter stepped outside. She hadn’t left her room since her episode in the kitchen that morning, and Hermione was surprised to see she looked calm and collected. She was still wearing her ridiculous outfit and had clearly reapplied her makeup as there was no evidence left of the tears she had cried so readily that morning.

“Can I talk to you mum?” Rose asked quietly as she leaned against her door frame with her hands in her overall pockets. The way she held herself in this stance, especially combined with the cold look on her face, was so familiar to Hermione she almost felt deja vu as she looked at her. She couldn’t pin point who it reminded her of, so she shook off the feeling and smiled at her daughter.

“Of course you can, let’s sit in my room.”

Rose nodded and pushed herself off the doorframe. Hermione stopped to check that Jeffrey and Thomas were still playing happily, which they were, and led Rose to her bedroom.

“What’s on your mind?” She asked as she sat down on her bed at patted the space beside her. She kept her voice light and decided not to immediately bring up her daughter rudeness from earlier, she interested in why her daughter had chosen to be civil.

Rose sighed heavily and sat beside her. She took a pillow from Draco’s side of the bed and began stroking it absently.

“I know I’ve disappointed you lately and I’m going to try harder and do better, I promise I’ll be good.” Rose paused mid-spiel and glanced at her mother. When Hermione’s face remained impassive, she continued onward, her words rushed. “And since I’ve apologized now, I was thinking could my boyfriend come on our trip too?”

Hermione pursed her lips, and bit back her initial reaction, which was more or less a rather unpleasant one. When Rose tried to pull these manipulative scams, all Hermione could see was her ex-husbands face and all she could hear was his lies. She quickly decided against calling her offspring a self-indulgent cow like her own younger self would have and followed a more motherly route.

“Rose it’s not a real apology if you’re just doing it because you want something.” She began, frowning as Rose’s expression immediately turned sour. “I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend, I haven’t met him, I’m sorry but he’s not coming.”

Rose’s face immediately flushed red and she stood up, tossing aside the pillow she’d been holding.

“Why not? Teddy’s coming! How come you let Scorpius do things and not me?” Rose stamped her foot and put her hands on her hips, glaring at mother intensely.

“Do you love Scorpius more than me? Is it because you want to impress him since you’re not his mother?” Rose stooped to pick up the pillow from the floor and clenched it to her chest tightly. “You’re such a bitch! I never get anything I want.” Rose finished, her voice reaching a high-pitched squeal and her eyes flashing dangerously as she quite suddenly threw the pillow at her mother.

Hermione stood up and caught the pillow mid-air. “That is quite enough out of you.” She said sternly, her famous Granger temper showing its face as she placed the pillow on her bed and crossed her arms above her belly. “If you don’t stop behaving like this there are going to be serious consequences.”

“What’re you gonna do about it?” Rose scoffed and threw her hands in the air. “You can’t make it any clearer that you love me the least.”

“I’m not going to listen to this rubbish.” Hermione shook her head and gave her daughter a disappointed look. “I can’t reason with you when you act like this.” Hermione stepped past her and walked into the hallway.

“Don’t just leave!” Rose shouted, bursting into tears before running after her mother. Hermione ignored her and hurried down the stairs, intent on carrying on with her day.

“Stop walking away from me.” Rose demanded as she followed her down the stairs. She immediately started crying when she saw that a furious looking Draco had entered the hall below, probably alerted by the noise she was making.

“Rose! Stop shouting.” Hermione finally responded to her daughter once she reached the hall and could stand beside Draco. She couldn’t help but draw strength from him.

“So, you left me for him! I hate you!” Rose practically screamed as she reached the bottom of the stairs and glared at her parents venomously.

“Don’t speak to your mother that way.” Draco interjected, stepping in front of Hermione protectively, his expression murderous.

“Oh, shut up you don’t control me, you don’t even care about me.” Rose spat before she stepped down and pushed her step-father away forcefully.

“Rose! Stop that.” Draco ordered sternly, recovering his footing and managing to avoid stumbling into his pregnant wife, completely taken aback by Rose’s actions.

“Rose, you can’t just push people. This behaviour is unacceptable, and certainly proof you shouldn’t have a boyfriend.” Hermione’s own voice was raised now as she stepped around Draco and glared into her daughters’ tear-filled eyes. “You are clearly hanging around with a bad influence.”

“Oh really, you’re questioning my taste in men?” Rose was incredulous as she insulted her mother, and she looked triumphant as she finished speaking. “You married someone who bullied you for years and is probably a murderer. You’re setting such a great example for me, aren’t you?”

“How fucking dare you,” Draco began, fire in his eyes as he practically spat out the words, before Hermione silenced him by placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently.

“You’ve gone too far this time. You cannot say such things.” Hermione’s voice shook with anger as she addressed Rose, but she kept her face composed. “Go to your room at once. I want you out of my sight.”

“No!” Rose shouted, folding her arms, and planting her feet. “If you make me go, you’re proving you love _him_ more than me!”

“Go to your room Rose, I’m proving nothing, your accusations are unfounded.” Hermione said firmly as Draco put an arm around her and she clutched his hand for comfort.

“Oi! Don’t fucking cuddle up to him!” Rose shrieked and lunged forward, completely ignoring her mother’s words. With rage-fuelled force she grabbed Hermione and shoved her away from her step-father. Hermione uttered a cry of surprise and lost her footing, she wrapped her hands protectively around her belly as she fell, and she hit the floor with a painful thud.

“Leave her alone!” Draco bellowed furiously, unable to reach Hermione before she fell, but fast enough to grab Rose’s shoulders as she attempted to hurt her mother further. He pulled her away from Hermione who was clutching her stomach and grimacing in pain.

“Let me go!” Rose howled and twisted in Draco’s grip. She turned and beat her fists against his chest before kicking and snarling as he held onto her tightly and managed to pin her arms to her sides. After a few moments of struggle, she started sobbing in earnest and buried her face in Draco’s chest, her cries racking her entire body.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other in mutual horror over their daughters’ shoulder, Draco entirely unsure what to do with the wailing girl he had pinned tight in his grip.

_Let her go_ , Hermione mouthed silently from the floor, hoping it was the right course of action. She had no idea how to navigate this situation and she suspected her husband didn’t either.

Draco hesitantly loosened his grip on Rose’s arms, and then let her go entirely. Rose immediately ran upstairs, still sobbing, and slammed her door resoundingly behind her. Once she was gone Draco quickly knelt by Hermione and wrapped one hand around her shoulders and pressed the other to her rounded belly. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern creasing his handsome face as he looked her over. Hermione nodded silently, staring at the empty staircase as a tear dripped onto her cheek.

“I’m just stunned.”


End file.
